Furlough Fridays

Chico’s Furlough Fridays has gone through a lot of personnel changes over its six or so years as a band, but thankfully lead singer Minnie Mental (Linda Bergmann) is still out front. When the chorus kicks in on Let Me In’s “For Goodness Sakes” and the muted crunchy guitars cut loose, Mental’s sassy, throaty voice soars as the volume jumps and you turn up the car stereo even louder to sing along: “Goodness sakes, what has gotten into you today?/ Don’t you know you’re something, something more than what you think!” If people still made mix CDs, it would make the most kick-ass lead-off track. The now four-piece includes Mental’s husband, JP Bergmann, on drums, and the band’s second married couple, Adam and Meagan Yates, on guitar and bass, respectively. The new four-song EP offers a demo of the grunge-ish power pop in which they specialize. “Porcupine” is the other standout track, and like “For Goodness Sakes,” it plays to what’s always been the band’s greatest strength: push-and-pull dynamics that raise the levels during all-hands-on-deck choruses that make you nod your head “Yeah!” to the driver in the next car as you pump your fist along. Visit www.furloughfridays.bandcamp.com to download a free copy.